Chelle's Blue and Sparkly Corner

So last night we got our tree decorated. We played the old Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer cartoon that I grew up watching on the TV. We didn’t use a lot of the decorations. I didn’t want to use breakable ornaments with new kittens in the house, although they tried to help; Lily climbing up and down the middle of the tree, and Lily and Luna both playing with the ornaments and bells at the bottom of the tree. (Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings…Just trying to do our part to help) We have lights around most of the windows. There are a few things we want to buy this weekend maybe at some Black Friday sales to finish up decorating but overall, we are happy with what we have. My Corner is almost finished as well. We have the fiberoptic tree that Tom bought me when I first arrived in Maine upstairs in that window. It’s dark when I come home from work (sun sets about 4 p.m. here now) so it’s quite lovely to see the house all decorated for Christmas. And this morning, I woke up to snow-covered roof tops and cars. I have always enjoyed riding in the falling snow but never have had to drive in it…not so much fun. Slipping and sliding is not Chelle’s cup of tea…oh no! I arrived to work safely, and only 2 minutes late, but for my first experience driving in icy conditions, I think I’m good. I think I’m ready to just appreciate the snow again and not actually be a participant. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here. These next few weeks are my favorite time of the year for so very many reasons.

Edge, a digital-first single-title romance line from Entangled Publishing, takes its lead from our popular Select imprint but gives its novels an edge in the marketplace by bringing great stories to readers at reasonable prices in a quick-and-easy way. Whether sexy or sweet, traditional romance or love and lust with a women’s fiction bent, at the center of every Edge book is heart. From Urban Fantasy to Contemporary Romance to Science Fiction Romance, Edge has a book for all romance readers—and right at their fingertips! As they say, all’s fair in love and war. To find out more about our titles, chat with authors, participate in special events, and to find out what books are coming next, visit the Entangled website, follow us on Twitter, and like our Facebook page.

Today I'm happy to be featuring Edge's November releases!!

Some Like it Sinful by Robbie Terman Perfect Recipe #2

Their attraction is sinfully delicious…

A struggling business and one act of vandalism may have brought them together, but bakery owner Chloe Nelson and professional hockey player Griffin Lange get along like chocolate and pickles. Chloe needs the famous (and famously unattached) Griffin to attract people to her pastries, and Griffin needs the curvaceous and fiery Chloe to keep him out of trouble. A fake relationship to keep the media interested seems like the perfect plan.

But when temptation throws them into bed together, a new plan arises. Why not make the fake real? Griffin’s winning every home game, and Chloe’s business has never been better. Both know it’s only physical—and only temporary. But can they drop their defenses for love, even if it means getting a little bit sinful?

It was bad enough that gods gambled with human souls, but Catherine Sharp’s soul just had to be won by the Greek goddess of Discord, Eris. As if working a dead-end tech support job didn’t suck the life out of her as it was. Now, Cat finds herself performing random tasks for the goddess in her free time.

But when Coyote, the Native American trickster himself, claims to have won her own soul in Mayhem's weekly poker game, Cat wants in on the action. With five sneaky gods upping the ante, Cat needs to find a way to collect the winning chips that could save her soul.

Marius, a handsome yet irritating satyr with his own debt to Eris, might finally come in handy for something. If they play their cards right and work together, Cat and Marius may just get their freedom back. If they don't kill each other or fall in love first.

Covets have all the sexiness, emotion, and happily ever after that readers have come to expect and love from Entangled. They are firmly grounded in the contemporary world, but each novel brings in supernatural twists, breaking the contemporary and paranormal rules, alike. To find out more about their titles, chat with authors, participate in special events, and to find out what books you’ll be coveting next, visit the Entangled website, follow them on Twitter, LIKE their Facebook page, and join the Book Club.

Today I'm happy to be featuring Covet's November releases which is very exciting because in celebration of these three great new books, they are on sale for just $0.99 for the first week of release only. So they are perfect to download and read over the long holiday weekend between all the hussle and bussle for a nice little break.Also, make sure to hop on twitter tonight, 11/25 at 8PM to join in the #CovetBash. The authors of these fabulous books will be joining in the fun, and there will be lot's of chances to win prizes, including a grand prize giveaway of Covet's entire backlist to one lucky winner! Details here.

Parts & Wreck by Mark Henry

Wade Crowson, a brutish and brooding playboy and veteran vivisectionist for the Parts Department, runs into more than he bargained for in new partner, Lucid Montgomery, a quirky beauty with a bizarre secret and a string of psychiatric diagnoses she tries hard to keep hidden. Loving Luce will stamp a demonic target on her back and thrust Wade into a frenzied whirlwind of hilarious misunderstandings and, quite possibly, a stripping gig for emptynesters. Can they withstand the savagery of an exorcism (with or without the split pea soup) and come out alive and …in love?

At eighteen, Melissa seduced her best friend Julia's brother only to run away shortly after. While Daniel was her fairytale prince, Lissa didn’t believe in happy ever afters.

Ten years and a near death experience later, Lissa is ready for a husband and family. But a cry for help from Julia puts that dream on hold. Daniel is acting weird and he’s about to marry his long term girlfriend—AKA The Evil One. Someone needs to save him.

Daniel has never stopped loving Lissa. Ten years ago when he gave her a little freedom, he always intended that one day they would be together. Right up until the moment he was bitten by a werewolf. Now, Daniel has to hide what he is. He won’t risk anyone else, especially the woman he loves.

But Lissa is back. Their attraction is stronger than ever and Lissa is nothing if not tenacious.

Half-shifter and lead SPAC agent, Val Calhoun, has listened to women gush over the Don Juan of the precinct for the last four years. Yeah, Detective Britton Townsend is hot and has stunning blue eyes, but that foul mouth he saves only for her? What a waste of good looks. And no way does Val want that mouth anywhere near hers.

When the shifter community is threatened, Val is assigned to the case…and fails. So the High Council turns to the rogue shifter they'd sentenced to twenty years as a human--that same obnoxiously sexy Detective Townsend. And sends the two arch-enemies deep into the North Carolina Mountains-—together, and alone.

Being stuck in a tiny honeymoon cabin with Miss Castration and only one bed is definitely not Britton's idea of a good time. But the High Council doesn’t take no for an answer. After his shifter abilities are restored, Brit is once again susceptible to the dreaded, irreversible bonding instinct, the Drall. Thankfully, all he’s ever felt for Val is intense loathing, no reason to worry. Right? All he has to do is solve this case pronto, and he can go back to his footloose Casanova ways. That is, if they don’t kill each other first. Or worse...fall in love.

Missed the first book in the Awakening series? While these books stand alone, it can be fun to go back and see how the other couple got together. And in celebration of book #3's release, book one, The Awakening: Aidan is on sale for just $0.99 as well, so grab it while you can!

The Awakening: Aidan by Abby Niles The Awakening #1

Is the gift of eternal love a blessing or a curse? After years of counseling grieving shifters, psychiatrist and half-shifter, Dr. Jaylin Avgar has become jaded on shifter mating. She wants to marry a human and forget about the love for eternity crap. Then she meets Aidan O’Connell, an infuriatingly laid back shifter who represents everything she doesn’t want. Yet, the more he pursues her, the more she craves a future with him. Only one thing stands in her way: death. Can she overcome her fear of losing Aidan to the one guarantee in life? Millionaire consultant, Aidan O’Connell knows he’ll one day meet a woman who’ll awaken an unrelenting mating instinct. Unfortunately, that woman is Jaylin, who has no qualms about telling him that he and his so-called eternity can shove it. When she pushes him away, he takes a drastic step so she can no longer escape. The close proximity throws the instinct into overdrive. Can he control the need engrained in him until he’s certain she will reciprocate the bond, or will a moment of weakness doom him to hell on earth?

Last week was my first week working outside of the home in over 15 years. I had one day of orientation and the remainder of the week was on-the-job training. It is definitely different! Leaving the house everyday, putting thought into which clothes to wear (apparently flip flops do not meet the required dress code) Jeans only on the last Friday of the month, and no holes or rips in them (Do they even make jeans without pre-made holes in them anymore?) But I made it through the week! The household, all the animals, made it through the week without me being here. The world didn’t relapse into an Ice Age. The zombie apocalypse didn’t happen. Boy, have I been tired though! I am most definitely not 17 anymore! I used to could run up and down the 5 flights of stairs to the 5th floor at Floyd without thinking about it. Yea…not now. Friday was a wonderful ending to the week though. We had Chinese delivered (yum!) and it snowed quite regularly for about 3 hours. It didn’t hang around much but I got to watch it falling out the window while I worked, which was quite lovely. I also had my first Holiday Star donut of the season from Dunkin Donuts. Yum! I actually had two but I gave one to Tom. Not a bad week at all…

So tomorrow is another chapter in a brand new story for me. These past few months have just been one new chapter after another in this new exciting journey of my life. I have worked from home for the past 15 years as a medical transcriptionist. At times, it has been a very well-paying job. That has diminished more and more in the most recent years with changes within the job description. A lot of companies outsource to other countries, specifically India. There was one hospital I was working for a couple of years ago, as an example, I worked making 10 cents a line. (I am paid by the line, not by the hour.) So, for each file I typed, I made 10 cents on a standard 65-character line. The hospital/company took the account away from us (It was a hospital in the Tampa, Florida area) and outsourced it to India, where the exact same job I was doing now got paid 2 cents a line. Compare 10 cents a line to 2 cents a line.

But I digress! It’s been 15 years for me since I really had to deal with people if I didn’t want to, so it will be different. I will be training at a hospital for potentially up to a year. That seems like such a long time! And especially, considering, winter is coming! (cue Games of Thrones music) Last winter, I so enjoyed sitting in my Corner and watching the snow out the window, watching it gather on the limbs of the evergreen trees. And I’m that person that thinks…if I live to be 100, I will only see 100 winters, so I don’t want to waste a single one. And I spent 36 years in Georgia, where it rarely snowed. So, the way I look at it, I have a lot of winters and a lot of snow to make up for! (Here’s hoping Mother Nature reads my blog and takes this into consideration.) I know it will be good for me though. I have become quite the introvert. I also think it will be nice that when I get off work, I am done. No more working longer hours than necessary just to meet a line count that seems to be more unobtainable than is should be due to company politics. I think that is one thing I am really looking forward to. Plus, I have the kittens to come home too now as well. They are growing sooo much. They will be 9 weeks old tomorrow, so we have had them 2 weeks but I swear, I think they are twice the size they were when we got them. And what great little personalities! Their names are Lily and Luna but I told Tom if the Red Sox won the World Series, we could name them Sox, so it’s Lily Sox and Luna Sox. Lily is really talkative. She meows a lot, sometimes like she is responding to you talking to her. Very cute! Luna likes to be held when she is falling asleep. She seems to more of a people cat (is that a thing?) They both greatly enjoy sitting on Tom’s desk watching his computer screen, or sitting in my lap watching my laptop screen when we are playiing games. I don’t know if it’s the bright colors or just the movement they see, but they can be quite entertained (and entertaining for us watching them!) I have spent very limited days away from Storm so I worry about him and his separation anxiety, but I hope it all goes well. It could potentially be a great opportunity for me! I will miss my Corner too, but it’s kind of awesome that I have a Corner to come home too. I haven’t really had that before now! Until next time, Chelle